Latin America

World News

In The Olympic Spirit, Tourists Are Giving Rio Benefit Of The Doubt

6:56am August 02, 2016

by Lulu Garcia-Navarro

Tens of thousands of tourists arrive in Rio this week for Friday's opening of the Olympics amid a surge in crime, concerns over Zika, and reports that the host city might not be ready for prime time.

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Zika Virus Spreads More Rapidly In Puerto Rico

4:27pm August 01, 2016

NPR's Audie Cornish talks with New York Times science and health reporter Donald McNeil Jr. about the status of the Zika epidemic in Puerto Rico. McNeil Jr. reports that while there are around 5,500 confirmed infections, the actual numbers are far greater, and many residents are highly skeptical of the government's actions to combat the virus.

Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone walks with his wife, Fabiana Flosi, in Singapore in 2014. Flosi's mother was kidnapped in Brazil and held for ransom last month; she's now been freed, police say.

World News

Brazilian Police Say They've Rescued Mother-In-Law Of Formula 1 Boss

9:46am August 01, 2016

by Camila Domonoske

Aparecida Schunck, whose daughter is married to billionaire Bernie Ecclestone, had been kidnapped and held for ransom. Police said Sunday that Schunck had been found unharmed in Sao Paulo.

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Police In Paraguay Find Blinged-Out Prison Cell, Occupied By Drug Lord

9:41am August 01, 2016

The prison cell had been upgraded to a luxury three-room pad with plasma screen TV, library and kitchen.

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Photos reveal Brazilian drug trafficker Jarvis Chimenes Pavao's cell at Tacumbu prison in Asuncion, Paraguay, last week.

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Locked Up In The Lap Of Luxury: One Drug Lord's Decked-Out Cell

9:31am August 01, 2016

by Camila Domonoske

Brazilian drug trafficker Jarvis Chimenes Pavao is serving an eight-year sentence in Paraguay. AFP reports that police, investigating an alleged escape plan, found a stylish three-room suite of cells.

World News

For Venezuela's 'Millionaire' Contestants, Winnings Amount To A Few Bucks

4:53pm July 29, 2016

by John Otis

Venezuela produces its own version of the hit game show franchise Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? In a country with runaway inflation, the top prize of 1 million bolivars is worth about $2,000.

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Edson Escobar, 16, (seated, left) and his brother Alex Escobar, 18, (right), with their grandparents Ricardo and Sara Tejada in central Virginia. Edson and Alex came to the U.S. from El Salvador separately two years apart to escape their abusive father.

Halt On Juvenile Immigrant Visa Leaves Thousands In Limbo

3:59pm July 28, 2016

According to Border Patrol, more than 120,000 unaccompanied children arrived in the past two and a half years, many seeking asylum. Some young immigrants are now trying to use a new visa category.

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A Father And Son Debate Venezuela's Economic Crisis

5:16am July 28, 2016

by Lulu Garcia-Navarro

A conversation between a father and son about the situation in Venezuela — where inflation is rife and food riots common — reveals the increasing fault lines among society in the socialist country.

In Rio, Olympics Preparations Come Down To The Wire

5:15am July 27, 2016

by Lulu Garcia-Navarro

The Summer Games in Brazil are days away, but at least half of the Olympic village — the luxury accommodation where the athletes are staying — has had to undergo last-minute repairs, officials say.

Activists and supporters march on International Women's Day on March 8 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Marchers called for protection from male violence in a country with high rates of murder and assaults of women.

World News

For Brazil's Women, Laws Are Not Enough To Deter Rampant Violence

2:33pm July 24, 2016

by Lulu Garcia-Navarro

Alexsandra Moreira, a mother of four, was stabbed 21 times by her husband. "Even with all the laws, when everything was done to protect her by the book, we failed," says the prosecutor in her case.

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